Training
by bemj11
Summary: Just a little bit of fun. Hikaru faces a dangerous opponent. Set during his Academy days. One-shot. Complete.


Hikaru Sulu dove behind the stack of cargo boxes, hoping desperately that his imagination was running away with him. If it wasn't, he had just been shot in the leg, which was going to make running really hard.

"I know you're there!" His opponent called out. Sulu tried to calm down his breathing, but all he could manage were gasping breaths. Seconds went by, and Sulu was still there.

He wondered why, if his opponent knew he was there, he hadn't come after him and ended this yet. Either he wasn't _exactly_ sure, or-

Or he was having mobility issues as well. Sulu hoped it was the latter.

He looked around for something to throw. Anything would do, but the area around him was surprisingly clean of debris. Just his luck. Sulu's gaze eventually settled on his boot.

He had it off in a second, and threw it several feet to his left. It landed with a thud, and Sulu tried to quiet his rapid breathing.

He wiped the sweat from his eyes, and realized as he stared at blood mixed with sweat that he had scratched himself somehow.

He heard a soft rustle; it almost wasn't there. He forced back a triumphant grin and waited.

His opponent rose up from nowhere to fire on Sulu's boot. He cursed as he realized what he was shooting and lurched for cover, but it was too late.

Sulu caught the man in the shoulder with his phaser blast. His adversary stumbled, but kept moving.

"Ow!" Sulu heard him shout at no one in particular. "That hurt!" This last was directed at Sulu.

"It's supposed to hurt!" He retorted as he moved again. He wasn't about to stay here and wait for the other man to circle around. His leg didn't want to move; pain shot up it as he struggled to his feet.

He had definitely been shot.

But they were even now. Sulu had taken a phaser blast to the leg, collected a small assortment of cuts and bruises from rubble falling on him, and had hit his head earlier when he had fallen. His opponent now had been hit in the arm, had his own collection of bruises, and had probably twisted, if not broken, his ankle.

Sulu wasn't sure this was worth it. He could just walk out now and let his opponent finish him off. He was tired, and winded, and right now wanted nothing more than to just drop to the floor and stop moving.

He was still moving as he thought all this, trying to figure out exactly where his adversary had run to, and in what direction he might move next.

It was difficult to predict what the other man would do next, even for Sulu, who had a better advantage than most when it came down to it.

"Aren't you dead yet?" His opponent demanded. Sulu could hear the scowl in his voice. He also knew better than to assume that the man would stay where he was.

"Nope!" He called back, hoping he sounded cheerful, as he began trying to track down his opponent before his opponent got him. "Are you?"

"Of course not!" Came the reply. Curiously, it had come from the same direction as the last comment. Was this a setup? Or was he just in such bad shape that he was staying put, trying to catch his breath?

"You could give up, you know!" Sulu shouted; he had resorted to crawling through the mess. It provided better cover.

"So-could-you!" His adversary was definitely winded.

"True." Neither of them would, though. Sulu knew that as well as he knew his adversary. They would keep going till one of them dropped. "You injured?" He asked, though he doubted he would get a reply.

He was getting close now. He jumped when his opponent finally answered. Sulu was practically on top of the other man.

He forced himself to his feet as he rounded the corner of another large crate. His opponent was there, sitting propped up against it. Sulu leveled his phaser.

His opponent didn't hesitate, but brought up his own as Sulu fired. He jerked as the blast caught him right in the chest, but didn't drop his phaser.

He managed to pull the trigger as he slid further down into the floor. Sulu's eyes widened a fraction of a second before the blow hit. He staggered back, and fell.

He fought back unconsciousness and looked to make sure his opponent was down. It was a good thing he checked.

The other man was trying to pull himself back up and keep an eye on Sulu at the same time. Their eyes locked; a flicker of understanding passed between the two.

Both Pavel Chekov and Hikaru Sulu managed to fire their phasers one last time before blacking out.

Later, as they entered their dorm, Chekov shot Sulu a glare. "You broke my ankle." He accused as he hobbled over to a chair.

Sulu shrugged unsteadily. "You gave me a concussion." He replied evenly.

"I'm going to be sore for a veek." Chekov complained. "Stupid training exercises."

Again Sulu shrugged. "At least we got a good score that time. And at least they let us choose our partners."

"They really just don't vant to stick anyone else vith either of us." Chekov informed his dorm mate drily. He winced as he leaned back in the chair. "Vhen do ve have to do this again?"

"Next Tuesday." Sulu replied. "They want to give your ankle time to heal."

"So I can break it again." Chekov grumbled.

"Just wait till they switch to hand-to-hand combat." Sulu said with a chuckle.

Chekov cast him a dark look. "I just hope they don't allow swords."


End file.
